Beer: Reviews & Ratings

I think this is a classic case of the small unknown guy can't possibly make a better beer than some of the larger more well known guys. I am an IPA fanatic and this is one the best double IPA's I have ever tasted. I had it on tap at Canal St pub and this beat several other highly ranked beers to my taste. I would place this right up there with Pliny the Elder in terms of quality and taste as well as memorable taste!

Call me crazy but this is one of the only other beers I have tasted and have a solid craving for days later.

It had an intense fruit aroma and was very well balanced. It had a solid hit all the way from first taste to full finish.

Pouring a cellar temp 12 oz can into a snifter. The beer pours a clear copper hue with a fizzy eggshell white head foaming up about 1 cm and fades to a thin edge layer with one wispy island. A few lazy streams of carbonation rise to the surface. aroma is a bit of pine sap and some grapefruit, maybe a bit of tropical fruit too. An interesting nose with a bit of booze buried, but otherwise hop forward scents.First sip reveals an average body with very fine carbonation that gently rolls across my palate.Texture is smooth and a little chewy adding to the experience of a bold robust beer.Flavor is some caramel and toffee up front but this rolls to a bit of biscuit and then is all hops. I get tropical fruit and then some pine sap and a lingering bit of grapefruit rind. Finish is also dry and makes me thirsty for the next sip. I dont get any of the booze that i detected on the nose.The beer does drink fairly easy and is enjoyable. A well crafted and slightly sneaky Double IPA.Glad I have several more cans in the cellar. (1,038 characters)

Had in the can. Smelled like citrusy hops, and the first sip confirmed this. As I continued to sip, this turned into a very clear grapefruit flavor- it seemed as though I was drinking grapefruit juice with a slight hint of hops. Very good, and will likely drink again soon. (276 characters)

A- Deep gold with hints of orange. Fluffy off-white head that dissipates at an average rate. OK lacing down the glass.

S- Heavy on the malt for a DIPA, caramel based mostly. Grapefruit based hops are also there with a hint of what seems like peach. The hops are also slightly herbal and minty. I could sit and smell this over and over. Really complex.

T- Yummy. The malt is very, very heavy, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Caramel malts shine through and seem to almost overpower, but the grapefruit/peach/herbal hops come on at the end and give a pleasant bitter finish.

M- Rich, medium carbonation. Could be a bit slicker, but finishes nice and dry, but not overly so.

O- I really enjoy supporting my local nano brewery, especially when they brew some seriously good beer. Much better than some DIPA's I've had from well known craft brewers. Well done guys. (915 characters)

Thanks to Chris for sharing this one at Ritual Brewing Company in Redlands, CA.

Pours a murky honey orange with a foamy bone head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Small chunks of sediment are seen floating around in the beer after the pour. Smell is of malt, citrus fruit, and citrus zest aromas. Taste is much the same with citrus zest flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer with a tasty citrus zest hop presence in the flavor. (652 characters)

I picked up this particular CAN during the release party at The Fridge. I rarely retain my spent CANs, giving the bulk of them to Jeff Lebo over in York County for his House of CANs collection. It's a CANQuest (tm) thing that not everyone will understand. In this case, it is signed by the brewers and will be going up on my kitchen shelf.

From the CAN: "Nicht Lang Schnacken, Kopf In Nacken! Stop Talking, Start Drinking!"; "Convert the Masses"; "In ancient times libations were drink offerings poured out to deities. This Double IPA combines a variety of hop flavors balanced by a malty sweetness. We offer you our Libation, a drink truly fit for the gods."

The Crack! seemed really loud and so it was time to celebrate with a Glug. This produced a finger of foamy, tawny head with minimal retention. Color was a slightly hazy Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9). Nose had a definite tropical fruit bent with notes of mango and papaya at the forefront. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was really sweet for the style with the tropical fruits really shining in the mouth. I mention this because I earlier reviewed a DIPA that wanted to challenge its CANsumer where this came off as more mellow. That is not to downplay its alcohol, which was barely masked by the hops. This combination of hops and alcohol made for a very dry finish that left me literally breathless. It was one of those no-playin'-around beers, but not an in-your-face ones. (1,432 characters)

The color is pale -golden with accents of amber with full thick crown of cream colored head with good retention. The smell is nice but not strong with more herbal aromas from the hops and mild floral sweetness in the scent. The feel is semi-dry with lots of resinous texture and moderate bitterness. I found it had a nice mellow sweetness level to anchor all the hop astringency and balance slightly -there is very mild alcohol which I only noticed when I took a larger gulp.

The flavor is very tangy with astringent hop leaning toward the lemony and herbal rather than citrus or pine, the malt gives a slight sugar tinge and coats the mouth as the resinous grassy hop flavor surround my taste buds, plenty of hop bitterness but not so much that it is a palate wrecking flavor, you are still able to get both malt and hops out of this Imperial IPA. I enjoyed this multiple times and found it needed a little time to open up as it seemed tame at first, but grew in complexity slightly toward the end. I prefer I dry west coast style Imperial IPA, but this one is a decent tasting and drinkable example I recommend giving it a shot. (1,203 characters)

T - Moderately roasted and moderately sweet, tart citrus and orange candy, herbal/medicinal, touch of pepper and astingent/lemony bitterness that lasts into the aftertaste balanced by a touch of caramel sweetness.

M - Light-Medium body and light carbonation. Oily and chewy.

O - Not a West Coast IPA. It's more earthy, lemony and astringent. (518 characters)

A - Pours a medium to medium dark copper hue with a generously thick layer of light toffee colored creamy, sticky foam. Very sticky on the sides of the glass.

S - Juicy, fruity aroma with a touch of caramel at presence.

T - More balanced than anything, caramel malt base throughout with a hit of sweetness up front before getting buried with pink grapefruit and pine bitterness that lingers. The ending bitter bite packs a healthy punch, and has a slightly unrefined harshness on the back end. The 8+% ABV is well hidden.

M - Medium body with a dry finish.

O - Very balanced up front and very bitter on the back end. (624 characters)

O - I prefer a less sweet double IPA w grapefruit pine flavors. However this is a very easy drinking beer w a strong malt back bone well that is balanced w vibrant lemony hop flavors. The beer has refreshing pop to it that makes it oddly sessionable for a high abv double. Later pours went down slower as the sweetness started to lose its initial appeal and become overwhelming. Overall though a very good beer that i will drink again. (825 characters)

Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a beige color with a 1 inch head. Smell is of hops, pine. Taste is well balanced hops and malts, some pine, a hint of tangerine, mild bitterness. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall a good beer, but not the hop bomb I usually associate with this style. (291 characters)

T - There is a nice balance here but the caramel flavor tends to stand out...the hops have a different flavor to them...there's an herbal tinge to them...but there is a big green, fresh, leafy flavor to them that is throwing me off...the finish is bittersweet

O - I was pleased to finally try something from these guys but I wasn't blown away...it really didn't stand out as a IIPA although the sweetness level was up there...I didn't care too much for the greenness of the hops (889 characters)